


The Red Angels... Taking Volunteers?

by Magical-Robins (DeletedBecauseShy)



Series: The Red Angels [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Red Hood: Lost Days
Genre: Betrayal, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Bruce Wayne is a Bad Parent, Gen, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Light Angst, Tim Drake is Robin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:48:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28775595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeletedBecauseShy/pseuds/Magical-Robins
Summary: —Since Tim’s meeting with the Red Hood and his gang, there’ve been eyes on the back of his head at all times.When he finally confronts Jason about the people following him, the plan burns and shrivelled up the second it gets the chance, leaving him in a very awkward situation.But, he did go there for a reason. He attempts to fulfill the trip’s purpose anyways.—
Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Series: The Red Angels [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2097645
Comments: 8
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> —  
> Since Tim’s meeting with the Red Hood and his gang, there’ve been eyes on the back of his head at all times. 
> 
> When he finally confronts Jason about the people following him, the plan burns and shrivelled up the second it gets the chance, leaving him in a very awkward situation. 
> 
> But, he did go there for a reason. He attempts to fulfill the trip’s purpose anyways.   
> —

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You don’t need to know about what happened previously. But, I would encourage it. Imho, this whole series is toning pretty well so check it out. Or don’t.

—  
Tim tried to ignore the strange feeling of being watched. At every corner, he checked behind his shoulder. Every night, he closed the windows. Still, there was the feeling of eyes following him. 

Whoever it was, if it was someone at all, was good, really good. 

Even when he monitored the people nearby him through cameras, no one person appeared more than what he would consider normal. 

—  
Kaitlyn had sent her best team to follow the boy, bosses orders and all. The five of them were practically made for the job. Plus, their new strategy seemed to be working well. 

By switching off every so often, one of them was never seen more than the other four. Do the same for cars, trains, buses, and whatever else the target used, and it became impossible to spot them. 

—  
Looking over the footage from his short walk earlier in the day, Tim noticed something. Five somethings. 

In the background, one person would be following him (a normal action to do at a walking loop) and then they would meet with someone else before vanishing and only reappearing later. A cycle, it seemed. A brown-haired woman, a black-haired man, a brown-haired man, a black-haired woman, and then a red-haired woman. That’s who was following him. 

They moved smart, never fully being seen together. But, they did mess up eventually, and still, it was only once. One of the men stayed in the camera’s view just long enough for it to pick up the many patches on his jacket. Zooming in, Tim recognised one: a Red Angels Knife, the guy was one of their fighters. 

He had to give it to Jason, the patch system was a cheap, easy way to intimidate your enemies. Much like the Batman’s cowl, the patches worked to easily identify the gang’s heavy hitters and show that they were a threat. Or, that they were protected. 

The different symbols were spread throughout Gotham like an artist’s tag. 

Buildings that were under the mob’s protection would have a shield contacting the letters R and A graffitied on one of the walls.

The snipers and marksmen all had the same pistol and bullet somewhere on their person. Tattoos and patches mainly, though he had seen one full-on T-Shirt a few days back. 

Likewise, the bookkeeps, strategists, janitors, and anyone else who was deemed both helpless and important, was given the Red Angels Rook. It was a simple design, showing that the person in question was protected by the mob. It was also how Bruce had previously found members that would be more willing to talk when under pressure. 

The most inclusive category was Knifes. It was the design most people tended to associate with the gang. The grey butterfly knife had become common to see in graffiti, tattoos, stickers, and patches. It covered any member that worked out in the field, both the offensive and defensive. 

The last symbol was the rarest. Tim had only ever met one person with it. Only three people had the trinity symbol, all of them had it tattooed. Tim only knew about it through rumours and the occasional snitch that Bruce found. They hadn’t even found out what it looked like. 

There was three of them, he only knew the name of one, Jason Todd, the Red Hood. The other two, Genesis and Knight, might as well not exist. All there was in the computer files were brief descriptions. 

‘Knight: Young, Indian female. Likely in her late teens. Short, ash-brown hair, eye colour unknown. Real name unknown.’

‘Genesis: Young, Latino male. Appears to be in mid to late teens. Long, black hair, dark green eyes. Real name unknown.’

It wasn’t very helpful when it came to actually ID’ing them. It wasn’t even proven to be true yet. 

Yet. 

Tim was willing to do a lot to get the information he wanted. Even if he had to sneak around behind peoples backs for it. 

—  
Kaitlyn was in the map room with Will when the call came through from one of her agents. The burner phone buzzed obnoxiously until she finally picked up. “Knight, it’s Avery. Got some bad news, think the target is on to us. He’s about to-“ 

There was a moment of static followed by silence. Then, another voice began to speak. “Ah, it worked! Nice! Umm, is this Knight?” She answered abruptly before the young, boyish voice continued. “Oh, good. I can’t give you my name but you can call me Red. Would I be right to assume it was you who sent the people after Tim Drink, Drake? Tim Drake. Sorry, Autocorrect, you know?” 

She didn’t know how to answer. Silently, she signalled for Will to call Jason down as quickly as possible. “Oh, thank you for calling the boss! I needed to talk to him. That’s all for now, Knight, it was nice to meet you.” She looked over her shoulder, there was no one there. There weren’t any windows in the map room, and there was only the one door. 

—  
Jason came quickly when he got the text from Will, only walking normally to keep everyone else calm. 

When the door finally closed behind him, panic and mania erupted around him. His mind struggled to pick out words from the sentences being flung at him from the two teens. Though, he did catch the words ‘intruder’, ‘target’, and ‘hacked’. Those were pretty bad words to hear in his their line of work. 

Finally, when they both calmed down, he let Kaitlyn explain the situation. “Yes sir!” She started with a mock salute, “Well, one of my agents, one of the ones I sent after the Drake kid, called me in a panic. Said she was onto them and then the call cut out. Then, some kid cut in! Said he wanted to talk to you and could see when I had Will text you! He’s in this room, I’m telling you, Hood.” 

—  
Tim couldn’t begin to talk about how much the plan had already gone amok. First, one of the stalkers alerts them. Then, they call Jason and he has to play cool. Jason must’ve already been nearby to have gotten there so quickly. 

Of course, there was the slip up during the text-to-speech but that wasn’t that bad. Probably shouldn’t have been so honest about the autocorrect, though. It was supposed to be a voice call. 

—  
Jason took a quick look around, letting his eyes linger on the shadowed corners and above the light fixtures. Finally, he spotted an unnatural glint of light in the shadow cast onto the wall. 

“You can come out, kid.” When he spoke, it was calm and collected, the opposite of how he actually felt. 

—  
Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck. Jason saw him. Oh no. He was barely even disguised, they recognise him. 

It was situations like that that made Tim wish he was a bit less recognisable in Gotham. Billionaire orphan boy adopted by another billionaire wasn’t a very common status to hold. 

—  
The figure slunk out of the shadows shyly, trying to avoid the gaze of the three people in the room. Dressed in only a tight-fitting pair of jeans and a black T-shirt, he was far from costumed. Only the black domino masked over his eyes worked to hide his identity. 

“What do you need?” The hood mutilates Jason’s voice until it’s unrecognisable and very, very intimidating. 

—  
It’s now or never, Tim realises. He might as well admit why exactly he came in the first place. Though, it wasn’t the ideal situation. Or, the number of people he expected to see. 

Honestly, he had planned for it to just be Jason and him. The two lieutenants were nowhere in the plan. At least, not when he initially made it. 

Still, better to just rip the bandage off. “I wanna help.” 

—  
At first, Jason is sure he’d misheard what the kid had said. It’s only when he looks around and sees that Kaitlyn and Genesis are just as shocked that he finally begins to believe it. 

Still, though, Bruce would want him to double-check. “Excuse me?” Not that he still listens to the voice of Bruce that echos in the back of his mind. He does not. Never. In fact, it isn’t even there. 

—  
“I said,” Tim reiterates, “I wanna help. I’ve seen what you do around here. It’s not nearly as violent as you seem to want people to think.” Yes, they do have assassins and hitmen but they don’t act on their own. Everyone in the gang follows Jason’s orders like gospel. They take the hits he wants them to take and they ignore the rest. 

Plus, the ones they do take are carefully considered. Tim doesn’t like it; but, he sees the results every time he walks out the door. 

Mainly though, they work to protect small businesses and feed/protects the poor and homeless around Gotham. 

“And why pray tell, should we not kill you here and now?” It’s a girl’s voice. Knight, he realises. She doesn’t use a voice modifier like Jason; she’s easier to talk to. 

“Because,” Tim has nothing and it shows. “Because...I’m a great strategist. I think Ja-Red Hood knows that’s true. Not that he’s on my team or anything. I mean, we hat each other. He probably wines me dead still now that I think about it. Anyways, he’s not double-crossing you or anything. We’ve just met before, yeah. We’ve met, uh...at school. Same teacher, you know?” His mouth is moving faster than his brain, struggling to come up with whatever will work without mentioning their real past. There’s still an elephant (bat) in the room. But, it’s mainly between him and Jason now. 

Yeah, there’s an elephant (bat) standing right between them. That’s why they can’t seem to connect at all, on anything. It’s cause the elephant (bat) gets in the way. 

—  
As much as he doesn’t want to think about it, Tim makes a good point. He is a pretty good strategist from what he’s seen so far. A little headstrong and he could definitely use some street smarts but, he’s trying. 

There’s still one thing picking at his brain. “Does Bruce know?” The kid's eyes go wide under his mask at the direct mention. Clearly, he doesn’t know just how close he is with the other two teens in the room. “Relax, they know. Plus, your disguise was shit from the start. You do know we have the same technology here that you and the old man use, right? Now, answer the damn question.” 

“No, well, yes. Kind of.” He continues only when Jason gestures for him to go on. “When I saw you back then he could tell something had happened between us. Doesn’t know about this meeting though. ‘Least, far as I know.” 

“Alright then. I don’t see why you couldn’t at least get us a bit of information while you’re here. You see, my people have been looking for a weapon shipment that’s arriving at the docks. Don’t know when or where. Just know it’s happening. If you can figure it out, I’ll give you another job.” Tim nods along, already trying to solve the case in front of him. 

There’s silence in the room for a bit as all the new information settles. “Wait, if you know who I am, can I know you guys are?” It‘s not subtle in the slightest. Tim makes it clear he just wants the information, probably to add to their files. 

“Where’s the fun in giving you that information, Timmers? All you need to know is Genesis and Knight. That’s all there is to know.” By then, the boy could go ahead and pull off his mask without losing any of the anonymity he had, it’s already been lost. 

“Fine, but at least call off the people watching me. If I’m with you guys and the bat at the same time, it better be worth it.” Before he leaves, his eyes wander over the design etched on the side of Jason’s wrist where his sleeve meets his glove. It’s a triquetra, a trinity knot. 

—  
When the roar of his motorcycle engine died down, Tim looked around the cave for his mentor. 

The man stepped out of the shadows like always, already cloaked and ready for their patrol later that night. “How’d it go, Tim? Find anything out?” 

While he hadn’t gotten the information he had wanted, the names of the two lieutenants, he did get something out of the whole ordeal. “1 location, by the docks. Check it out on patrol tonight?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my Batfam side blog as well!  
> [A Worm of Robins](https://being-robin-is-magical.tumblr.com/) I’d love to talk about this AU


	2. Chapter 2

—  
The initial scan of the docks doesn’t seem to bring back anything. For Bruce and Tim, anyways. For Jason, who’s watching on from afar, it’s a very helpful reminder of what he should do next. 

Jason knew what would happen that night. He had known since he figured out the boy’s main tell after their conversation. When he thought about it, it was likely that Tim had been lying the whole conversation. Because, when Tim lies, he gets anxious, and he sure as hell had been anxious during their conversation. 

—  
Jason doesn’t know how to feel when he sees Tim and the Bat investigating together. All he knows is that whatever it is doesn’t feel good. 

He realises then just how much he had wanted to trust Tim. The boy had begun to grow on him like an invasive mould since their first meeting, popping up in places he wasn’t needed and being too stubborn to ever leave. 

Jason wished he could’ve been surprised, that Tim’s betrayal could’ve been a shock. But there had never been any reason for Tim to work with him besides reporting back to Bruce. He should’ve seen it coming sooner. The only surprising thing is that Tim didn’t tell Bruce the second Jason let him out of his office freely. 

Even when he realised everything Tim had said had been a lie, he’d been hopeful. He really didn’t want the kid to end up turning his back towards them so quickly. 

Jason knows how he’s feeling, betrayed. 

“Will, Kate, what’s your current location?” Their comms stutter to life in his ear. “I need you both at the docks, ASAP.” 

The three of them were separated by almost the entire city. When news of a sudden influx in illegal weapons dealing arose, it was better to be spread out. 

Jason had taken the docks, fully expecting to see Tim. All he was looking for was whether or not the boy was still working with Bruce. If he was, then it would be bye-bye Bat. If not, then maybe they could add another member into the fold. 

Looks like it was time for the Bat to finally leave Gotham for good. 

—  
Will was over a hundred miles inland, hovering within the shadowy streets of the Narrows. It was their standard protection job, even Lieutenants weren’t spared from its boring claws in their gang. It was strange though, to see the streets he wandered on at worked at from such a high angle. From his perch, everything looks small, insignificant. That’s exactly how everyone else sees the Narrows, he realises, with a bird’s eye view where everything that isn’t shiny and new can be easily cast aside as unimportant. 

It isn’t, he wants to scream, people live there. People make their living on those broken, dirty streets. There are people who’ve been there their whole lives and those who had only recently been cast aside from society. 

If it hadn’t been for Jason and Kate, he would still be rotting with everyone else down below. There was no reason for them to help him, he had been just another homeless kid doing odd jobs for food and dumpster diving for everything else he needed. That was what you did when you didn’t have anyone else, you just survived on your own for as long as you could manage. 

Will knew he likely still had someone out there with the same blood running through their veins, he didn’t want to find them. Chances were, they would be just as bad as everyone else in his family had been. 

They had been his salvation, and Will wanted to pay it forward within his lifetime. He wanted to help. That’s how he would make a living, even if it was in the mob. He didn’t see it as a mob, though. To him, mobs did nothing but steal from the poor and put expensive steaks onto the plates of those in power. To him, the Red Angels was a charity. 

“Will, Kate, what’s your current location? I need you both at the docks ASAP.” Jason’s comm went quiet afterwards, awaiting their responses. He tried to work out an exact answer, signing in annoyance when he couldn’t calculate it quickly enough. 

Well, 105 miles wouldn’t be that long. Given of course, that he ignored every sign and light in his path. “About an hour off. I’m on my way.”

—  
Kaitlyn had opted to watch over the inner city. She always did when given the choice to. The tall buildings and their never-ending noises were a Homebase to her, a checkpoint. Things in the city just worked differently. The inner city was a strange place to be. 

It was the type of place that time flowed in a nonlinear pattern. It was where people were always talking and the streets were always filled with distractions. Bright neon shined on cracked concrete and reflected off the glass in a way you can only see when you’re there. 

Apartment buildings housed everyone from businessmen to criminals and the unemployed. Hotels were less of a temporary stay and more of a cheap bed to lay on between shifts. 

The rich looked on from their sky-high penthouses into the lives of the workers below. They saw the rest of their world as their plaything, watching it with an unattached glance that allowed them to keep it impersonal. It wasn’t people they saw on the filthy streets, it was just tiny, mechanical, bots all going to their various jobs in the dollhouses on the block. 

Her entire family had lived in the city when she was little, always working dead-end jobs at bizarre hours to keep a roof over her head. As soon as she was old enough, she joined them. 

It was the factory work that had started her obsession with strength and exercise. She learned on one of her first jobs just how easy bodybuilding came to her. Before that, she had only ever worked around the house, cleaning here and there for her mother while the woman worked. 

She hadn’t wanted to end up working with a gang, that was just what she had to do. People don’t hire a young teenage girl when she’s all alone and weakened by sudden malnourishment. But Jason, Jason hired whoever needed the money. 

She liked working for Jason, even if it wasn’t what she had thought she’d be doing at her age. So, when he asks, she answers. “Will, Kate, what’s your current location? I need you both at the docks ASAP.”

They both could all but hear Will doing complex math in his head for a more exact time. What they could hear, was the sigh when he gave up and estimated. “About an hour off. I’m on my way.”

“Probably 30, maybe 40, minutes. I’ll see you both soon!” Yeah, she could do 50 miles in half an hour on her bike, easy!

—  
Tim doesn’t know how to feel anymore, it’s all too confusing. He had seen firsthand how much good the Red Angels were doing, both within their ranks as a family and in the city as a mob. 

Yet, the second he had been given the chance, he gave the information they had trusted him with to Bruce. Sure, he could be a bit of a pain to work with and he made an even worse mentor/father. But, they were still Batman and Robin, still each other’s family. 

Jason would be pissed if he knew how quickly Tim had sold him out to Bruce. The older boy had trusted him, a little at least, and he had ruined it. 

Honestly, he didn’t know if he could bring himself to go back to Jason, even if they did find something. If he went, the guilt would be too much for him. So, he would just avoid him. Avoiding things was easier than dealing with him. 

—  
Kate landed beside Jason with a nearly silent swish of wind. Neither of them talk out-loud, opting for basic signing in order to stay hidden. ‘Batman. There. Wait, Will. Tim, Live. Batman, Die.’ He’s fairly certain that he got the point across. At least, she doesn’t ask for him to repeat anything. 

They wait in silence together for another 15 minutes. When a third person finally lands between them just quiet enough to stay hidden, there’s a flash of sign language before all three of them are in pursuit of the Bat. 

—  
There’s a flash of movement in the side of Bruce’s vision that has him turning on his heels. Instinctively, he puts himself between his Robin and the attacker. 

In the shadows, three colours stand out drastically. A metallic red, a light blue, and a deep orange. 

He puts his hands up defensively, silently requesting for the other three to stand down. It’s strange to do, especially in costume, but he knows it’s a fight that he can’t win easily. 

With a single motion, Knight and Genesis retreat back a step, allowing the Red Hood to step into the light fully.

—  
He debates, for a second, whether or not to give Bruce the opportunity to talk before a fight breaks out between the two teams. The guilty look on Tim’s face finally pushes his opinion enough to make a decision. He wants to know how the two can play the hero this time, how they think they’ll be able to come out on top. 

“Stand down, Red Hood.” It’s a weak attempt, a starter. Bruce doesn’t really expect it to work, he hopes. 

“Yeah, no. Oh, and I know you know who I am. Go ahead and say it, Bruce.” The older man takes a step forward, trying to get closer to his son. 

“Jason,” he says it as though it’s a foreign name on his tongue. “We don’t need to fight. You can come back with me.” 

He doesn’t even need to answer, Kate does it for him. “And leave us to what? Rot? Fat chance, Bats!” She giggles in the face of a direct confrontation with the Batman. To her, it’s a thrill. 

“Yeah! What she said!” Will offers from behind Jason, not nearly as willing to talk down to the Bat as his friend. 

“Well, the jury has spoken, B. How do you want to do this? Three and two or one at a time? I can do either.” He’s about to give the signal when Bruce takes another step forward, taking off his cowl in the process. 

“Wait” He speaks. “I know you blame me, Jason. But we can fix things, together. No one else needs to die.” Jason thinks for a second before responding. Not with words, with laughter. 

“Absolutely not. People need to die, B. I’m cleaning up Gotham, and I’m pretty damn good at it!” What Bruce says next, he tries to ignore. If he doesn’t hear it, he reasons, then it can’t affect him. 

“I can help you, Jason.” Alright, he heard that one.

“I don’t need help, B! I’m just doing what needs to be done!” It’s devolved into a shouting match with the three youngest waiting on the outskirts for their mentors to attack first. “You say stuff like that, do you really think you still control me? I don’t listen to you anymore, old man. That all ended a while ago.” 

It’s a game of words now. It’s a game of words, and that’s one of the only things Jason can’t win at. Already, he can feel the telltale tendrils of regret clawing at his body from Bruce’s words. Don’t let him get to you, don’t let him get to you, don’t let him get to you, it echoes in Jason’s head. “Son, just come home with me. None of this is your fault.”

Fuck him for playing the father card. “I’m not your son, Bruce! You lost that when you couldn’t do the one thing that was expected of you!” Kill the Joker, he wants to add. But, is that all it even was? He doesn’t want forgiveness, he doesn’t need it. He doesn’t, he doesn’t, he doesn’t. 

He doesn’t need it, even if it does spark something in his chest. Fatherly love, he wants to call it. But that’s not it at all. It can’t be. 

“Jason, stop this now and I will forgive you. But, anything you do from here on, any blood you spill, is on your hands alone.” God, Jason wants to pretend so badly that the words don’t get to him. He wishes that he could go back to the mindless rage he had felt in the years prior. Why, dammit, why did Bruce still affect him! 

Maybe it’s not Bruce’s your mad at, his mind whispers, maybe it’s not really his fault. No! No, it has to be someone’s fault. Bruce’s, it’s Bruce’s fault. But the joker, it whispers. The Joker is a fault too, yes. But not as much as Bruce. “Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!” He screams. 

“Jason, I’m so goddamn sorry for what happened that night. Please, just come back with me. I miss you, Alfred misses you, everyone at the manor misses you.” His mind thinks of Barbara, another victim of the Joker’s insanity. But, that again is Bruce’s fault. Everything the Joker did and continues to do is Bruce’s fault. You wouldn’t keep a rabid dog alive after it killed and maimed every other dog on the street. So, why the hell would you do it with people?

But, it’s not even his death that he’s mad about. How could Bruce misunderstand that of all things? “That’s not what any of this is about, old man! I forgive you, I have from the start, for letting me die. But why, god, why do you continue to let the Joker live? You talk about the blood on my hands, but let’s see yours! Don’t you see that anyone he hurts is your damn fault? You can’t be dense enough not to, right?” Kaitlyn and William still stand at his side, poised to attack as soon as he gives the signal to. They know what Jason isn’t saying, there’s a lot. 

—  
When Jason had first told them everything, he didn’t shy away from the smaller details. He made his thoughts and opinions very clear. 

He wanted Joker dead, for killing him and so many others. 

He wanted Bruce dead, for refusing to kill the Joker after he killed Jason and so many others. 

Anyone else they found that was willing to hurt others for their own personal goals would join the two main targets. 

Thomas Carlsson, Lucas Massey, and so, so many others already rested in graves throughout the city. Filth, Jason had said, had no use but to be cleaned up. 

If he had to bite his lip whenever he wished Bruce dead, it was only because of some twisted version of nostalgia. He was sure. He had to be sure. 

—  
With a minute flick of his wrist, Kaitlyn and William were rushing forward. In a flurry of yellow, orange, and black capes and flying blades, the two teams meet with a clash. Batarangs and throwing knives narrowly miss their targets as the sound of a metal staff meeting a sharpened knife rings out over the docks. 

To one side, Will, Kate, and Tim are engaged in an aggressive fight between the three of them. As Will swipes and swipes relentlessly at Tim, the boy is left with no option but to back up slowly. Though, what’s behind him is arguably worse, Kaitlyn. Armed with a heavy pipe in one hand, she might be the lesser of two evils between herself and Will. Even while parrying Will’s attacks carefully, Kate manages to get a hit on him. 

—  
Tim’s body screams at him to retreat but his mind, like always, has other plans. In a last-ditch attempt, he lunges at Genesis with the weight of his full body focused into the hit. There’s a horrible sound as metal meets bone before the other boy is knocked to the floor in a heap. 

He’s still breathing, but it’s gonna leave a real bad mark in the morning. 

—  
Jason is in a head-to-head battle with Bruce when the sound of a body landing on wood echoes around them. His trigger finger hesitates when he looks over to the source of the noise. 

Only a few metres off, William’s body lays in a heap on the wooden planks below them. His chest still rises, thankfully, but Jason refuses to let Batman get away with hurting one of his... he almost says kids but it’s not right. One of his men, he decides. Even if he, Will, and Kate are a lot closer than everyone else that works under him. 

With a renewed passion, he takes his aim towards the man across from him. There’s a fire behind his eyes underneath the domino and hood he wears. At the rate the fight is going, it wouldn’t look good for him or Kate. 

Four shots fire out in quick succession, all of them hitting the Bat’s armour enough to stun him. It’s not enough to draw any blood, the armour stops that, but it does stagger the older man dramatically while giving Jason enough time to make his next move. Six more bullets hit the bat-symbol like a target before Jason is sure he has enough time to plan and make his move. 

His fingers make quick work of reloading his gun, grabbing a new clip from the left pocket of his jacket to reload. When he’s ready, he steadies his arms carefully and aims his shots. 

The Robin uniform has always been focused more on flexibility and access than body armour. Compared to the Bat-suit, it’ll fare a lot worse against a bullet. 

So, when three rounds hit the R-shaped insignia, it draws a scream from the boy wearing it. It takes two more to each knee for Tim to finally fall. Like Will, he lands with a loud thump. 

—  
One more bullet hits Tim’s side before he finally allows himself to tear up. It hurts, it hurts really bad. His mind struggles to comprehend the pain, wanting, begging to pass out until it’s over. 

He can hear Bruce yell “Retreat!” Before a sharp whistle splits the air around him. There’s the sound of a grapple firing before a heavyweight covered his body. “Tim! Come on!” Bruce is screaming at him now. “Fire a grapple line!” He must be too far away to see what’s really happening if he’s even looking Tim’s way at all. 

—  
Bruce’s mind is abuzz with worry over his third son. He knew he had been shot but he hadn’t seen where. All he knows is that there was only one grapple launched when they retreated, and it had been his. “I’m gonna hurt you, B! You know how to stop me. Tomorrow night, 12:15, at the alley. Bring me his head.” He can’t turn around while in motion. But he doesn’t need to, he knows Jason has Tim. 

When his feet finally land on a flat surface, he turns towards where Tim should be. At the very least, he expects a body. But, there’s nothing. Only calm waves splash against the wood where his son was lying barely over a minute ago. 

—  
“I’ll take Tim. Get under.” Jason speaks loud enough to catch her attention while still being unheard by the Bat. Kate takes only a second to understand. 

She follows his orders quickly, grabbing Will by his waist and dragging him off the dock and into the water roughly. They both emerge below the wooden dock a second later, their heads resting right under the wood where the water doesn’t quite touch. 

—  
“I’ll take Tim. Get under.” Jason rushes towards the two bodies in front of him. He rushes to drape Tim’s arm over his shoulder before whispering to him. “Hold your breath.” They both hit the cold water roughly before re-emerging underneath the docks. 

The dip, it seemed, had woken up one of the two bodies.

—  
Tim’s eyes fluttered open lazily before honing in on the three enemies in front of him. Hesitantly, he brought his hands to where he remembered being shot, wincing when he made contact. 

Pulling his hand back quickly, he expects to see red blossoming from the wound. Though, none came. Looking up at Jason, the boy did nothing but smile mischievously back at him before glancing at an equally cocky Knight. “Told you this plan would work. A Robin always reports back to their Batman, after all.” 

The pieces click together sluggishly in his mind. “I was...bait?” 

“Yeah, kid. And some good bait too. You would never work with us, I could tell you were lying from the start. So I just had to get you to bring Bruce here with you. It wasn’t that hard. You weren’t supposed to take out Genesis, though. That was uncalled for. So, I might’ve shot a few extra bullets than originally planned, sue me.” His chest still ached from the bullets, it would for a while. But, he wasn’t injured too badly. 

Well, Tim’s not the only one who was trained to spot lies. Jason it seemed, did not things under control nearly as much as he was pretending to, a shame, really. It would’ve been so much harder to set off a beacon if Jason’s attention was on him and his hands rather than Genesis. 

—  
[5 minutes ago]

Jason’s fingers make quick work of unloading his gun, he grabs another clip from a specific pocket on his jacket made for situations just like the one he’s in. The bullets within are a shockingly bright orange, very different from his usual metallic black. 

All he needs is a shot to both of the boy’s knees to down him and maybe a few more to knock him out. 

Rubber bullets, he admits to himself, do have their own unique benefits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit’s getting realllll now!!!!! ~<3


	3. Chapter 3

—  
It’s tense and quiet in the trio’s shared living room. On the couch, Genesis is still passed out; It’s the most peaceful thing going on in the entire room. 

Tim is in a chair that Knight pulled into the centre from their kitchen. His sitting is not voluntary; he is very much trapped. Ropes restrict his arms and hands the corresponding rests on the chair, it’s the same with his legs. To make matters worse, his hands are cuffed and bagged in front of him. 

Meanwhile, Knight and Jason are off to the side, arguing passionately about what to do about him. 

“He’s innocent; it’s the bat we’re after!” Jason argues, accentuating his point with strict and sudden movements. 

“But,” Knight screams back. “He’s a traitor! We both know he told the Bat about what we told him.” Tim is a lot more scared of her than he is of the Red Hood, he decides. 

“He is my brother, Kate; I’m not gonna hurt him just to get to Bruce!” The room goes eerily silent as soon as he says it. There’s a lot to unpack from the one statement. 

For Tim, the shock of getting Knight’s name is dramatically outweighed by what Jason had said a second prior. Brothers, it’s that really what they are? Is that how Jason saw the two of them? The teen can feel his eyes widen. 

—  
Jason can’t take back what he said quick enough. By the time he realises, it’s far too late to even try. There’s a look in both Kate and Tim’s eyes that tells him that they heard it all perfectly clear. Fuck. 

—  
Kaitlyn isn’t even mad. Not at him saying her name, at least. That’s fine, she doesn’t really care. Kate isn’t even her name, and her mask had been lying on the floor since they came in. Really, who cares. But everything else in that sentence, Holy Shit! 

She can’t even think of a rebuttal. Whatever she was gonna say is dead on her tongue. Damn... Jason really went there, huh?

“Just...” She can see Jason struggling to pretend nothing had happened. “Just untie him, Knight.” 

“Sure thing, boss!” Yeah, sure thing. Real smooth, Jason, real smooth. 

—  
Tim can feel the knife cut uncontrollably close to his skin and suit as the ropes fall away from his body. He’s not free, Jason and Kate could stop him easily. But, it is a pretty good start. 

They trust him, that’s good. 

It’s misplaced trust, but it is still trust. Yeah, it’s misplaced. It’s because he’s gonna turn on them. He is definitely going to turn on them again, he reassures himself. He already has, Bruce should know where he is by now. 

There is no mutual trust between them. Tim does not respect them. They are not brothers. He and Dick are brothers. Jason is not one of them. 

Jason is evil. 

Jason is evil and wants to kill Bruce. That is a bad thing. 

Jason is evil and in a gang, that’s another bad thing. 

Jason is evil and his gang frequently feeds and houses the homeless and poor. That is.... not a bad thing. 

Black and white, black and white, black and white, Bruce’s words echo through his head persistently. There is no grey, there is no grey, there is no grey, it chants. 

He has to get back to Bruce. He can help. He’s Batman, he always knows what to do. By now, he’s likely worried, as well. Plus, Tim has new information. Bruce likes getting new information. 

—  
It’s strange, Jason thinks, watching the new Robin sit stock still even after being untied; gears are turning in his head. 

He and Tim are alone in the room, now. Kate had left for a drink and a snack and Will....was still out. If anyone else had hurt his (son. He’s your son, he wants to say) lieutenant like that, they’d be dead. But Tim was only doing what the Bat had asked of him. Being a suck-up is not a good trait for a Robin. 

Finally, the boy snaps back to reality with a sharp look up at him. Jason does nothing but stare back at him. At least, until Genesis groans lightly from his spot of the couch. 

It’s a light noise, barely audible and scarily quiet. But, he is alive. “Will...?” He waits silently for a response. 

The rise and fall of the boy’s chest speed up before his eyes open, he’s scared. There’s a small groan when he tilts his head to the side to mutter. “Jay,” he has to take a breath to steady himself. “Jason?” 

Immediately, the man is on him like a worried mother, checking his vitals and breathing manually. “Yeah, yeah. I’m here,” he speaks clearly, trying to keep the boy calm. “How are you feeling?” 

“Like I’ve been hit by a truck. What happened? Where’s Kate? Is she okay?” Jason can see the boy’s worry begin to increase as he becomes more and more aware. Luckily, Kate comes back into the room quickly. 

—  
Walking past the now empty chair, her attention flicks to Will. There’s a small squeal when she realises that he is awake. “Good morning, sleeping beauty. Ready to join the vertical world?” Sarcasm, it’s a habit to her. “Where’d Tim end up?” 

Jason and Will look over to her curiously, examining the personless chair beside her. They had untied him, sure; but, he couldn’t have gotten out that quickly. 

“Oh...” Jason breathes out slowly. “That little bastard.” 

“Agreed, Jay, agreed.”

“What? Did something happen while I was out? Guys?”

—  
“Bruce, come in. I’m on my way back. Call N, I have a lot of news. Names, an address, we’re gonna be golden.” It comes through the comms in the Batcave, instantly waking Bruce from his stupor. 

He had been tracing the signal Tim had sent out a couple of hours ago. He had followed it to down Main Street only for it to suddenly go blank around one of the old, rundown apartment complexes. A jammer, of course, Jason would use one. 

The trail had run cold there. At least, until the small dot appeared right around where it had disappeared two hours prior. 

—  
Dick gets the call at around half-past midnight. It’s Bruce; he doesn’t really want to answer. 

But, he does. He always does. He doesn’t want to, but he can’t let something important happen without him knowing, not again. 

Reluctantly, he picks up the phone. “It’s me, B. What do you need?” Immediately, the words fly out from his old phone’s small speaker. 

“It’s about Tim. Earlier today, the Red Hood, Jason, took him. He had a tracker on him but Jay must’ve jammed the signal. But now, he’s back, says he has news and wants you there as well. Get here as fast as you can.” There’s no ‘sorry for calling so late.’ or ‘how’ve you been?’, typical for the big bad bat. 

—  
Just over half an hour late has Dick, Tim, and Bruce standing uncomfortably close around the evidence they have layer out around the small table in the cave. 

Most importantly, there’s a map, a map with a dot highlighted on the northeastern quadrant and a label sticking out from it. ‘Known safehouse, current location’ In Bruce’s sleek, cursive script. 

Off to the side, almost entirely ignored, a list of names and arrows were drawn on a scraped paper from earlier in the night. 

Knight is connected to Kate and Genesis to Will. Though, there’s no way to know for sure just how true the information is. Even it was true, Dick knew eleven Kates from his graduating year alone. 

But, he realised, it wasn’t the only information they had. “Tim, come here real quick.” They both head over to the computer in the centre of the large cavern. “You said Knight took off her mask when you got to the house, right?” The boy nods in response “So you saw her then?” Another nod. “Alright. Then let’s find her.

First, they put in the information they have. Every version of Kate that the internet can come up with (Kate, Katherine, Kathy, Kaitlyn, Kathleen, Katarina, Katrina, and some neither of them had ever even heard of) is their main base. Then, they plug in the physical appearance that Tim had seen earlier in the night: grey eyes, dusty brown hair, and around 5’8” tall. 

It took a second, but, the computer spat back out a surprisingly low number of results. Sorting further by race, and they were left with only 3 choices. Kathleen Adwani, a student, Kaitlyn Malone, no recent records, and Kanti Pokoska, former military. It was fairly obvious which one they needed to look more into. 

Kaitlyn Malone’s name was listed on the paper quickly before they moved on to the next of Red Hood’s associates. 

They did the same for the other kid, Will. They plugged in the names (William, Bill, Liam, a lot of others they would never have thought of.), specified the hair and eye colour, dark black and dark green, and the height, shorter than 5’6”. 

There were more results than there had been with Kaitlyn but they eventually lowered it down to five. William Spearsson, deceased, Bill Redington, a teacher, Will Parker, a student, William Duran, a drop-out, and Liam-Isaac Gallo, another student. 

Well, considering one of them is dead, another is an adult, and two more of them were active students out-of-state, Tim was pretty sure he knew which name needed to be written down. 

—  
“So, do we look for him?” It’s the same question in all of their minds; Kaitlyn is just the first one to voice it, as always. 

The two boys just shrug in response, neither one having much of a plan. Between all three them, there’s a shared groan at the idea of actually going out again in the same night. 

But, it’s not just a mutual exhaustion that fuels them. There is also a literal lack of fuel in all of them. Its hunger, they’re hungry. Hungry, and also very tired. There’s a smidge of pain there as well. They’re just used to the last one by then. 

“We could,” Will starts, “or, we could go grab takeout. It’s been about an hour so he couldn’t have gotten more than twelve or so miles by now. Assuming, of course, that he can do a five minute run like Jay can. But, the manor is closer than that. Plus, he likely had some sort of vehicle stashed nearby or called remotely.” So, the kid had almost certainly gotten to the manor already. That was....not good. Not good at all, for any of them. Will still wasn’t done, though. “If he already gave away our location, which is very likely, then the last place we should be is here. There’s two other options: we can camp out at one of the gang’s bases or we could just go get takeout and stay at a hotel. Or both!” Kaitlyn nodded at the idea of both. 

—  
“Hello, can I get an order of sesame chicken, two orders of white rice, and one box of the House Lo Mein? Hold the pork. Oh, and three medium soft drinks as well. Thank you.” Kate placed their order on her phone remotely from Jason’s office in their main building. 

In one corner, William taps at his keyboard almost dangerously fast. On the screen, she can see their shared apartment from one of the cameras hidden inside. 

In the other, Jason is unpacking their bags and slowly pulling the cushions from nearby couches and chairs. By the time he’s finished, there’s three mock rectangles held together with whatever blankets and pillows he could find, beds. 

It’ll be okay, she reassures herself, Jason will solve it. He always does; he has to. He has to because she can’t imagine what will happen if he doesn’t. 

—  
You accept help from someone once, Jason thinks, once, and they’ll make you pay for it immediately. It would’ve happened if they’d just shot Tim the second they saw him. 

Emotions always were the best way to cloud someone’s judgement. 

Now, the kid likely knew everything: where they lived, their full names, none of it was a secret anymore. It was over for all of them, Bruce would make sure of that. 

William wouldn’t get to go to the school he had been saving up for since he joined. He wouldn’t even be able to say goodbye to the family that had abandoned him five years back. 

It’s the same for Kaitlyn. She won’t be able to do much inside a prison cell. It’ll break her, he knows, being restrained like that. She’s as sporadic and energised as a songbird, captivity like that would destroy her for her. 

For himself, it wouldn’t be his first time being arrested. The league had done the same and, before that, juvie. Jason could handle it, it was the other two he was worried about. 

—  
Everyone is silent in the room, it creeps Will out. It’s not the silence itself, just the general aura of fear and hopelessness that causes it. 

His screen is completely still and changeless. For a second, he thinks that Tim hadn’t given away their address, only a second. 

The window shatters instantly, filling both their living room at home and the office they’re in with a sharp noise. Immediately, Kate and Jason are at his side to watch. 

Two figures fly in gracefully, almost birdlike in their grace. The first turns towards the camera slowly, “Robin, I thought you said they were here.” His arm moves slightly, just enough to flick his wrist. There’s a second of static before the screen blacks out completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, that's it for this part. There’s only two more until the end~ (plus a character backstory collection that I’m planning but that doesn’t count) I hope you enjoyed ~<3


End file.
